Is input really a strength?

Several months ago, the members of our WSU Cru staff team took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test. If you aren't familiar with the test, it's a series of online questions that ask you to pick which choice is more "you", A or B. What is unusual about the test is that it times you so that you can't over think your answers. After you take the test, it produces your Top 5 strengths (out of the 34 identified by Gallup).

I had first heard about "StrengthsFinder" at our national staff conference in 2007 when Mark Gauthier, our national campus director, mentioned the test and how the Upper Midwest region in the USCM was really into it. Off-handed, he commented that he had ideation. He said something along the lines of "I'll say 'that idea is great!', but that doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it. I just love the idea!'" When I heard him say that, I thought two things: 1. I think I have the ideation strength, and 2. I need to take this test. I've rarely met a personality/self-discovery tool that I don't like.

Go forward a year and a few months, and my wife goes to a national mom's conference where they all do StrengthsFinder. She comes back with all sorts of insight in to herself and the other women that she interacted with, as well as ideas with how we could do it with our staff team. Somehow, she also got her hands on a list of the "Top 5" of all the leaders in our region. I guess all the local leaders/regional directors had recently done it. That was fascinating to look over. (Ssh, don't tell anyone.)

So after convincing our staff team to spend the money to buy the book (cheaper than buying the online test...and the test comes in the book that you get to keep), we all took it and processed our results. I put together a spreadsheet that was pretty fun to look at that incorporated the four different strength "themes" along with our team results. As we discussed the results, we were able to learn a lot about each other and how we function as a team/individuals. Many of us passed the word to students who began taking the test.

My top 5 were: 1) Input, 2) Strategic, 3) Learner, 4) Ideation, 5) Intellection. First thought when looking at the results: Is "Input" really a strength? What can you do with that? The Gallup organization says we are most happy in our jobs and life when we are using our strengths. According to this, I should spend my time reading and collecting information. Fortunately, there are also some tips on how to "put your strengths to work". This blog is an attempt to contribute towards that personal effort.